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Hurricane Priscilla (2019)
| dissipated = | 1-min winds = 160 | pressure = 893 | pressurepost = Third–most intense Pacific hurricane on record | fatalities = 1505 total | damages = 7970000000 | year = 2019 | currency = USD | affected = Hawaii (espcially Oʻahu | cycloneseason = 2019 Pacific hurricane season }} Hurricane Priscilla was a deadly and destructive hurricane that devastated the Hawaiian Islands, especially Oʻahu, and left the entire state in a major humanitarian crisis as it caused catastrophic damage statewide. It is regarded as the worst natural disaster to affect Hawaii in recorded history. The costliest Pacific hurricane on record, Priscilla was the eighteenth named storm, twelfth hurricane, eighth major hurricane, and second Category 5 hurricane of the record-breaking 2019 Pacific hurricane season. It was the first hurricane with a major impact on the island chain since Iniki in 1992. Priscilla originated from a tropical wave that entered the eastern Pacific Ocean. Though weak and disorganized early on, unusually favorable conditions in the central Pacific resulted in an unexpected rapid deepening, eventually making landfall on the southwestern side of Oʻahu, Hawaii at its peak intensity. Normally such storm would approach from the east and weaken due to a subtropical ridge east of the Hawaiian islands, but Priscilla approached the area from the south, an unusual occurrence. It stalled around the Hawaiian islands for about two days before accelerating in the direction of Alaska before being absorbed by a low-pressure system on September 5. Because Priscilla was a fairly large tropical cyclone and that Hawaii is isolated from any major landmass, the entire state was given little time to prepare or evacuate. As it rapidly intensified, Hawaii was already receiving wind gusts two days prior to its landfall. Due to Hawaii's small size and distance from the Contiguous United States or any other major landmass, it was not simple for residents of the state to evacuate. Like Iniki of 1992, which also impacted the state, hurricane warnings and watches were not able to be issued ahead of time, but the impact was much worse, as it impacted the most populated Hawaiian island, Oʻahu. Priscilla killed 1,505 people across the state as well as nearly $8 billion in damages, with more than half of this damage were on Oʻahu. Meteorological history The origins of Hurricane Priscilla go back to a tropical wave that entered the eastern Pacific Ocean through Central America in mid-August. Initially very disorganized, the wave moved westward in a similar path that hurricane Lorena earlier in the season took. Over time, it slowly began to organize, and on August 27, it was designated as Tropical Depression Sixteen-E at approximately 135° west latitude. About a day later, it strengthened intro a tropical storm just east of 140°W, and thus was named Priscilla. As it entered the Central Pacific basin, Priscilla immediately encountered conditions that prevented further intensification. First, it encountered unfavorable conditions caused by Lorena passing through a similar area only a few days ago. Second, it faced a subtropical ridge, preventing further intensification. However, on August 31, it entered an area with unusually favorable conditions, and began intensifying while curving northeast toward the Hawaiian Islands. Early on September 2, Priscilla underwent a period of rapid deepening, reaching top one-minute wind speeds of 185 mph (295 km/h) and a pressure of 893 mbar (hPa; 26.37 inHg). This makes it the third most Pacific hurricane behind Lorena of the same year and Patricia of 2015. thumb|right|Hurricanes [[Hurricane Lorena (2019)|Lorena and Priscilla active simultaneously on September 3]] On September 3 at 1:00 PM HST (23:00 UTC), Priscilla made landfall at peak intensity near Kapolei, Hawaii on Oʻahu, close to Kalaeloa Airport. Wind gusts recorded at the time were recorded as high as 230 mph (370 km/h). Priscilla began to slow down at this point, and its effects were felt on all eight islands in the state. Torrential rainfall fell across the state as it impacted the islands severely. Soon afterwards, rapid weakening ensued, and on September 4, its core collapsed rapidly and started losing tropical characteristics. The next day, it accelerated towards the northeast before becoming devoid of convection. Preparations Late on September 1, the CPHC issued hurricane watches and warnings to the entire state. Many flights to and from airports in the states were canceled, and many ongoing flights were turned around or made emergency landings on the islands. Over 150 emergency shelters opened statewide in addition to the 54 that were opened in preparation of Hurricane Lorena earlier that year. All schools were canceled for the second time this year, and remained closed for a month. Most hotels kept tourists in their hotels while other older hotels evacuated them. Many other preparation strategies that were previously done earlier for Hurricane Lorena were utilized at the maximum. 24 hours prior to landfall, the state went under a shelter in place mode and also issued mandatory evacuations for many communities close to sea level to move to areas on higher ground. This caused nearly a hundred thousand residents to evacuate, triggering one of the largest evacuations in the state history. With no other landmass connections, this was the only way of evacuation. 'Forecasting difficulties' As Priscilla defied many forecasts, the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC) failed to issue tropical cyclone warnings and watches for the hurricane in advance. Instead of directly impacting the state as a strong Category 5 hurricane, it was forecasted to be a weak, disorganized tropical storm to avoid the state entirely. Several models predicted otherwise, but none of these models showed the hurricane reaching past Category 3 intensity at landfall. The CPHC still stuck with their prediction until it began to make a northeast turn. Even with the updated prediction, the CPHC was still not expecting a landfall at such intensity, instead expecting it to impact as a low-end Category 4 hurricane. Immediately after beginning rapid intensification early on September 2, the intensity expectations were raised sharply, and a major state of emergency was issued statewide. Impact Impact was widespread and catastrophic. Hurricane Priscilla became the costliest Pacific hurricane on record, with a total of $7.97 billion (2019 USD), as well as the third deadliest hurricane on record, with a death toll of 1505. Much of the damage occurred on Oʻahu, however impact in general was widespread. Tens of thousands of homes and other structures were left destroyed. 'Kauai' Though not directly impacted landfall-wise, Kauai still suffered a great deal of damage, receiving torrential rainfall and strong violent winds knocking down homes and structures while shredding vegetation. In total, it caused $287 million in damages and 191 deaths from landslides and storm surge in Kauai. 'Oʻahu' Hurricane Priscilla caused catastrophic damage when it made landfall on Oʻahu as an extremely powerful Category 5 hurricane on September 3. Priscilla inflicted a 31 ft (9.4 m) storm surge, which is the highest storm surge observed for a Pacific hurricane. Around 700 people died from the storm surge. With little preparation for a storm of such intensity, there were many deaths attributed to the storm. Priscilla caused major structural damage on the island. Many houses were destroyed, especially older houses. Power outages lasted for as long as two months. Several ongoing projects, including the Honolulu Rail Transit project, which was expected to be completed in late 2020, was damaged by the hurricane and limited further construction. Storm surge caused significant beach erosion, especially on the southern portion of the island. The west coast of the state suffered the worst of the damage. A planned community, Kapolei, was hit directly when Priscilla made landfall near peak intensity. Many projects in the area have yet to be completed at the time, but the hurricane caused a "rollback" when much of the structures were destroyed. The coastal cities of Mākaha, Waiʻanae, Nānākuli and ʻEwa Beach suffered massive damage due to storm surge and torrential rainfall. Impact is not limited to the western part of the island. Torrential rainfall and storm surge flooded streets in Waikiki and other areas of Honolulu. Its strong and violent winds knocked down many utility poles. Much of the North Shore communities, such as Haleʻiwa, were affected by significant flooding and beach erosion. Overall, throughout Oʻahu, 754 people were killed mostly due to storm surge or previous evacuation attempts. 'Maui County' 'Molokaʻi and Lanaʻi' In Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi, Priscilla brought torrential rain and storm surge. Its strong Category 5 winds cut off winds for customers for an extensive period of time. Both islands observed a total rainfall of 12 in (304.8 mm) as the eyewall passed nearby. 'Maui' Maui received extensive flooding. The cities closes to the beach were almost completely flooded as a result of massive torrential rainfall. A maximum of 16 in (406.4 mm) of rainfall was recorded in Lahaina. As a result, many structures were destroyed; a total damage toll of $500 million was reported. 'Hawaiʻi' Hawaiʻi was the furthest from the hurricane. Nonetheless, Priscilla still caused a notable impact on the island as it had a large wind field and that Hawaii was densely populated near the beaches. Flooding was notable, especially in western districts such as the Kona district. As it was close to the ocean, and the age of most structures, it was especially vulnerable to powerful hurricanes. Through the entire island, 264 fatalities occured; structural damages are estimated at $551 million. Aftermath Following Hurricane Priscilla, many residents of all populated islands at the time remained without power for months. President Trump signed a disaster declaration on September 6 for all counties across the entire state. Most structures were destroyed, many beaches were eroded, and a formerly occupied island Niʻihau that was evacuation in preparation of Hurricane Lorena was declared inhabitable. Across the entire state, hundreds and thousands of residents were left without power, food, water, and other supplies and had to stay in shelters due to their homes being destroyed. The homeless crisis in Hawaii reached its peak a week after Priscilla hit the area. For over five months, the entire state was left without power. As of 2024, the state has still not recovered entirely from the hurricane. Many state projects planned had to be canceled due to the damage the hurricane caused. In 2021, the Honolulu Rail Transit project was revived and built underground to prevent another hurricane from damaging it. The planned community of ʻEwa was rebuilt with over thousands of housing and as the "second city" it was planned as in the early 2000's. 'Relief efforts' Extensive relief efforts were made following Hurricane Priscilla. Countries from all over the world, including Japan, Australia, Mexico and others visited the island to donate supplies. A GoFundMe was started by residents, which became a proven success. The transcript of the page is as follows: We are WORLD FAMOUS for being a tropical paradise. But look at this: we were hit by one of the worst hurricanes to ever roam in the Pacific Ocean, and now look at what Hawaii is now. You see that right. We are NOTHING now. We need to fix this and raise money to return Hawaii to the paradise we are world famous for. This is NOT a one-man job. We need YOU to help out. This GoFundMe fundraiser has proved to be a massive success, raising $26 million in one year, becoming the single campaign with the most money raised. Retirement Names of destructive tropical cyclones are retired by the World Meteorological Organization. On April 5, 2020, at the 42nd session of the RA IV hurricane committee, the World Meteorological Organization retired the name Priscilla from its rotating name lists due to the extensive deaths and damage it caused in the Hawaiian Islands, and it will never be used again for another Pacific hurricane. It was replaced with Pearl for the 2025 season; it was first used in 2031. Category:Category 5 hurricanes‏‎ Category:Category 5 Pacific hurricanes